Kids Dish

It’s supposed to be warm out. It is most definitely not. Weather.com is reporting 54 degrees at almost noon today. That kind of weather calls for hearty dishes. With Polish and German relatives, hearty dishes has come to mean sausages and sauerkraut - and the girls love it!

If you’re not a big fan of sauerkraut, don’t click away just yet. You’ve probably had sauerkraut that was overprocessed or too salty. That’s what happened to me. I couldn’t stand the idea of it before I met my husband. And then I had good sauerkraut. Yum! What a difference! Apparently (and who knew?) the USDA regulations for preservation/processing have resulted in the addition of a lot more salt than is traditionally used.

So, you have a couple of options:

1. Buy good sauerkraut and rinse before using.
2. Make your own.

Sauerkraut

1 large head of cabbage (about 3 pounds)
3 T coarse salt

Remove core from cabbage. With a hand grater or food processor, slice cabbage as thinly as possible. Combine in large bowl with salt.

Transfer to a large glass or ceramic container (ceramic is traditional). Liquid will come out of the cabbage as you tap down by hand. Cover with a damp towel touching cabbage and top with something to weigh it down. Cover again with a layer of plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to ferment. Check after 2 days, scraping anything off of the top. Repack and check every 3 days. The flavor will get better as the saeurkraut ferments. After 2 weeks, give it a try. After 3 weeks, you should eat, refrigerate or can the sauerkraut.

Now, what to do with it?

Reuben sandwiches (yum).

Or try Kielbasa and Sauerkraut.

1 1/2 lbs kielbasa, sliced 1/2 inch thick
3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 1/4 c water or other liquid (I use beer)
30 oz prepared sauerkraut, rinsed and drained or 4 cups homemade sauerkraut
2 tsp dried dill

Now, I’m a huge fan of the crock pot. So, I would make this in a crock pot. If you prefer to cook it on the stove top, use a large pan (a Dutch oven would work) but add more liquid, as necessary.

Here are the easy instructions! Throw everything in the crock pot and walk away. Really. I’d let it cook on low for about 2 hours.

If you’re looking for some more great recipes that incorporate sauerkraut, check out this site.

sauerkraut, dill, kielbasa